Today in History: Nevada is site of first-ever underground nuclear explosion

On this day in 1957, the first underground nuclear test was carried out at the Nevada Test Site, a 1,375 square-mile research center located 65 miles away from Las Vegas. The 1,7 kiloton nuclear ordeal was placed in an underground tunnel and the detonation was fully contained, with no radioactive fallout. The weapon weighed 218 pounds and it was one of 29 tests carried out to research on weapons safety that year.

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Today in History: Nevada is site of first-ever underground nuclear explosion

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1754: Hiroshima after the dropping of the atom bomb in August 1945. USAF photograph. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1754: Survivors of the explosion of the Atom bomb at Hiroshima 1945 suffering the effects of radiation. ICRC photograph. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

World War II, after the explosion of the atom bomb in August 1945, Hiroshima, Japan. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

World War II, after the explosion of the atom bomb in August 1945, Hiroshima, Japan. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

World War II, firestorms after the explosion of the atom bomb in August 1945, Hiroshima, Japan. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

1945: Atomic bomb damage at Hiroshima with a burnt out fire engine amidst the rubble. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

World War II, Human shadow on bank steps, in Hiroshima after the explosion of the atom bomb in August 1945, Japan. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

World War II, after the explosion of the atom bomb in August 1945 Hiroshima, Japan. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

World War II, shadow of a tap on a pipeline at Hiroshima after the explosion of the atom bomb in August 1945, Japan. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

6th August 1945: The twisted wreckage of a theatre, located 800 metres from the epicentre of the atomic explosion at Hiroshima. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

HIROSHIMA, JAPAN: This September 1945 file picture shows the remaining of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industry Promotion Building, known as the Atomic-Bomb Dome, which was later preserved as a monument. (Photo credit should read AFP/Getty Images)